If you have ever wondered about the stories of the traditional old tailor shops of Nicosia’s old city and their craftsmen, this event is for you. Every Stitch, a Memory this Saturday, October 3, part of European Heritage Days 2026, will offer an oral history journey (in Greek) through the tailor workshops of Nicosia’s walled city.

As researchers interview and record the tailors’ stories in an effort to safeguard their history, the public is invited to watch the experience, browse their space and listen in on their conversations.

Facilitated by the Cyprus Oral History Association, Saturday’s event is not an organised tour, but an opportunity to walk the city, hear stories from a different era of Nicosia, see the tools and techniques up close and meet the people who spent much of their lives behind a sewing machine.

“Step for a moment into the old tailoring shops on Aischylou Street and the surrounding streets,” say organisers. “Sit alongside the tailors, listen to their stories, see their old sewing machines, scissors, measuring tapes and patterns, and discover a world that still exists behind the shop windows of old Nicosia.”

The interviews by the researchers will take place from 10am to 12pm inside the tailors’ workshops, open to the public. Visitors can pick up a free printed map of the route from 7 Kleidia at 9.45am and follow the route at their own pace, dropping in on an interview.

The event will also open up a conversation about something that is gaining renewed value today: repairing, reusing and taking care of clothes. With free participation, the event is open to all, yet due to the small size of the tailor shops, the number of people allowed inside each space will be limited.

Every Stitch, a Memory

Oral history researchers interview and record the stories of old tailors in Nicosia. Route available for the public to visit and follow. By the Cyprus Oral History Association. As part of European Heritage Days 2026. October 3. Aischylou Street, Nicosia. 10am-12pm. In Greek. Free participation. Online registration: https://forms.gle/Kp1dCD4JSVuSs7eV9 , [email protected]